$150k NICU Medical Device Competition Finalists Announced

Organizers of the $150,000 “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition today announced the 12 finalists who are advancing to the live pitch component of the competition scheduled for September 22 during the 7th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium hosted by Children’s National. The pitch competition, sponsored by the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI), focuses on Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) innovations, a pediatric subspecialty that the FDA identifies as having a significant unmet need for medical devices.

The finalists are receiving pitch coaching through BioHealth Innovation and are competing for a chance to receive awards up to $25,000 and participate in the newly created “Pediatric Device Innovator Accelerator Program” led by MedTech Innovator.

Rhaeos, Inc., Evanston, Ill. – FlowSense is a wearable device that enables noninvasive monitoring of ventricular shunt function in patients who have hydrocephalus.

“All of the companies that entered the competition are remarkable, but these finalists impressed us the most because of how their innovative medical devices solve a clinical challenge in the NICU and the feasibility of accelerating their commercialization process,” said Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, vice president and chief innovation officer at Children’s and principal investigator of NCC-PDI. “One in 10 babies is born prematurely, making NICU innovation an area where we can positively impact outcomes for a significant number of patients, so we want to support developers with funding, mentorship and regulatory guidance.”

The competition is one of many highlights that attendees can expect at the 7th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium, which co-locates with The MedTech Conference in Boston. The one-day, information-packed gathering of stakeholders from industry, government, academia and patient groups will begin with an opening keynote address from Melinda Richter, Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS, a network of life science incubators designed to foster new ideas to transform healthcare for all, including the very youngest of patients.

Richter will address the power of public and private collaboration. Next year, Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Children’s will launch JLABS @ Washington, DC at the new Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus. JLABS and Children’s will nurture and equip scientists and researchers to produce more novel solutions that currently do not exist for children. At the conclusion of Richter’s keynote, she’ll join a fireside chat with Eskandanian.

Keeping with the symposium’s tradition, Vasum Peiris, M.D., the chief medical officer for pediatrics and special populations at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, will deliver the closing address and provide an update on advancements and gaps in pediatric device innovation.

Three multidisciplinary panels will address the symposium theme “Pediatric Device Clinical Trials: Forging a Better Path” and a fourth panel will highlight the latest legislative activities of importance to the pediatric innovation community.

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